Black Panther Vol 7 6
Supporting Characters: * Other Characters: * ** ** Unnamed Emperor ** Numerous unnamed others * ** ** ** ** * * * * ** Numerous unnamed Vanyan ** Numerous unidentified two-headed creature ** Numerous unnamed Simbi ** Numerous unnamed Anansi * The Between Races and Species: * Numerous unidentified alien species * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * ** *** * * * * ** *** **** * Items: * * * | Synopsis1 = As Emperor N'Jadaka kneels before the Panther Goddess, Bast greets him and transforms into her human form - watched by the other Orisha. Remarking that it has been a long time since he sought her council, Bast asks N'Jadaka what has brought him to the chamber of the Wakandan gods. Rising, N'Jadaka responds that he is filled with the gravest of regrets, to which Bast responds this is unlike him. Conjuring images of her past champions and avatars, Bast remarks that none were more certain than him; but N'Jadaka replies that time has had its way with him, leaving him humbled. Bast remarks that one who has conquered five galaxies should not be humbled or pay heed to the passage of time, but N'Jadaka replies that he has seen her chosen avatar - T'Challa the Redeemer. In response, Bast asks if he knows what drew her and the other deities from Earth into the depths of space, and he replies that it was the abiding faith of her subjects. Bast states that the faith of the ancient Wakandans and Egyptians freed her from the shackles of mortality and deified her, enabling her and the other Orisha to defend Wakanda from all manner of threats. Remarking that she is not the only one who sought deification, she remarks that the expansion of the Wakandan empire into space brought not only faith but fanaticism - and that none had been more fanatical than N'Jadaka himself. N'Jadaka acknowledges that in his youth he had carried out crusades and genocides in the name of Bast and Wakanda, seeking to weed out the weak from the strong; admitting that his methods were brutal but necessary to forge a peaceful empire. Bast remarks that those who call him a monster have no way of knowing the betrayals and losses he has suffered, N'Jadaka remarking that perhaps he should have listened to her. Bast chides him for placing his faith in mortal men instead of the gods, conjuring scenes from the past. Following his victorious conquests, N'Jadaka was hailed as a hero of the Wakandan Empire, beloved by all except the emperor he served - whose advisers warned that eventually he would seek to usurp the throne and urged that he be disposed of. The Wakandan Emperor summoned N'Jadaka and his Hatut Zeraze, sending them on a mission to investigate a small outpost for the Between. Bast chides N'Jadaka for this folly, saying she warned him not to trust in mortals; but N'Jadaka retorts that she also said that one day she would replace him with her chosen avatar, asking how she could expect him to have faith in her knowing that he would be forsaken. Bast remarks he should have seen himself as merely the steward of her totemic power instead of its sole claimant, and when he protests that he needed power to safeguard the Empire she again scolds him for leaving himself open to betrayal by swearing himself to mortal men. In the illusory vision, N'Jadaka and his troops are attacked by a massive horde of Betweeners, forced to fall back into a cave. Confused as to why the Empire would send them into a death-trap, having been told this was merely a small outpost, N'Jadaka and his lieutenants explore the cave and come across a symbiote - the last remnant of a colony that had been wiped out by the Empire when they first conquered the Matrix of Mamadou. Reaffirming his social Darwinist ideology and swearing to never again be among the weak, N'Jadaka bonds to the symbiote and uses its power to slaughter the Betweeners and assassinate the Emperor. In the present, N'Jadaka retorts that when he bonded to the Klyntar he made a pact with an entity that needed him and became part of him, and thus would not betray him; and that he came to realize that his ancestors had been wrong to shun war and that conquest was the only means of defense - thereby becoming more powerful than he could have ever imagined. Bast cordially remarks that she knows he's come to kill her and become a god himself, and N'Jadaka laments that this is the only path forward given that he faces the return of T'Challa. Stating that the people of the Wakandan Empire now fanatically worship him, N'Jadaka declares that the time of his ascension is at hand as he covers his face with the symbiote. Bast remarks that he should have listened more closely as she transforms into a humanoid panther, snarling that there is more to life than eternal power. N'Jadaka and Bast do battle, the former's symbiote making him evenly matched with the goddess. Gaining the upper hand, Bast knocks N'Jadaka to the ground and bites his throat, but his symbiote enters her body. Healing, N'Jadaka sneers that Bast is the one who should have listened. As the symbiote drains her powers, slowly killing her, Bast chokes that N'Jadaka is no god, but he remarks that now neither is she. Absorbing her divine power, N'Jadaka turns to the other Orisha and declares himself the new Panther deity - the other gods saluting his apotheosis. | Solicit = “THE INTERGALACTIC EMPIRE OF WAKANDA” PART 6 - THE END OF ARC 1! T’Challa and the Maroons renew their war against the Empire. But N’Jadaka is watching — and he knows exactly how dangerous the Black Panther can be. Witness at last the rise of Emperor N’Jadaka and the Exalted Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda! | Notes = | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }} Category:Digital Comic Code included